Whereas
the United States Government has consistently supported efforts to address the
rise in anti-Semitism through its bilateral relationships and through
engagement in international organizations such as the United Nations, the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the
Organization of American States;
Whereas
in 2004, Congress passed the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act (Public Law
108–332), which established an Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism,
headed by a Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism;
Whereas
the Department of State, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights of the OSCE, and others have reported that periods of Arab-Israeli
tension have sparked an increase in attacks against Jewish communities around
the world and comparisons of policies of the Government of Israel to those of
the Nazis and that, despite growing efforts by governments to promote Holocaust
remembrance, the Holocaust is frequently invoked as part of anti-Semitic
harassment to threaten and offend Jews;
Whereas
since the commencement of Israel’s military operation in Gaza on December 27,
2008, a substantial increase in anti-Semitic violence, including physical and
verbal attacks, arson, and vandalism against synagogues, cemeteries, and
Holocaust memorial sites, has been reported;
Whereas
among many other examples of the dramatic rise of anti-Semitism around the
world, over 220 anti-Semitic incidents have been reported to the Community
Security Trust in London since December 27, 2008, approximately eight times the
number recorded during the same period last year, and the main Jewish
association in France, Counsel Representatif des Institutions Juives de France,
recorded more than 100 attacks in January, including car bombs launched at
synagogues, a difference from 20 to 25 a month for the previous year;
Whereas
interspersed with expressions of legitimate criticism of Israeli policy and
actions, anti-Semitic imagery and comparisons of Jews and Israel to Nazis have
been widespread at demonstrations in the United States, Europe, and Latin
America against Israel’s actions, and placards held at many demonstrations
across the globe have compared Israeli leaders to Nazis, accused Israel of
carrying out a Holocaust
against Palestinians, and equated the
Jewish Star of David with the Nazi swastika;
Whereas
in some countries, demonstrations have included chants of death to
Israel
, expressions of support for suicide terrorism against Israeli or
Jewish civilians, and have been followed by violence and vandalism against
synagogues and Jewish institutions;
Whereas
some government leaders have exemplified courage and resolve against this
trend, including President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, who said he
utterly condemned the unacceptable violence, under the pretext of this
conflict, against individuals, private property, and religious
buildings
, and assured that these acts would not go
unpunished
, Justice Minister of the Netherlands Ernst Hirsch Ballin,
who announced on January 14, 2009, that he would investigate allegations of
anti-Semitism and incitement to hatred and violence at anti-Israel
demonstrations, and parliamentarians who have voiced concern, such as the
British Parliament's All-Party Group Against Anti-Semitism, which expressed its
horror as a wave of anti-Semitic incidents has affected the Jewish
community
;
Whereas
despite these actions, too few government leaders in Europe, the Middle East,
and Latin America have taken action against the anti-Semitic environments in
their countries and in some cases have even promoted violence;
Whereas
other leaders have made hostile pronouncements against Israel and Jews,
including the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, who called Israel’s actions
a Holocaust against the Palestinian people
and singled out
Venezuela’s Jewish community, demanding that they publicly renounce Israel’s
barbaric acts
and in so doing implying that the Jewish community
is co-responsible for any actions by the Government of Israel and thus a
legitimate target, the leader of Hamas, Mahmoud al-Zahar, who recently called
for Jewish children to be attacked around the world, and the Supreme Leader of
Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who vowed to confer the status of
martyr
on anyone who dies in this holy struggle against
World Zionism
;
Whereas
incitement to violence against Jews also continues in state-run media,
particularly in the Middle East, where government-owned, government-sanctioned,
or government-controlled publishing houses publish newspapers which promulgate
anti-Jewish stereotypes and the myth of the Jewish blood libels in editorial
cartoons and articles, produce and broadcast anti-Semitic dramatic and
documentary series, and produce Arabic translations of anti-Semitic tracts such
as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
and Mein
Kampf
;
Whereas
Jewish communities face an environment in which the convergence of anti-Semitic
sentiment and demonization of Israel in the public debate have fostered a
hostile environment and a sense of insecurity in certain countries;
Whereas
in response, the United States Government and other governments and
multilateral institutions have supported international government and civil
society efforts to monitor and report on anti-Semitic activities and introduce
preventive initiatives such as tolerance education and Holocaust Remembrance;
and
Whereas
challenges still remain, with the governments of many countries failing to
implement and fund preventive efforts, accurately track and report anti-Semitic
crimes, and prosecute offenders: Now, therefore, be it
That Congress—
(1)unequivocally condemns all forms of
anti-Semitism and rejects attempts to rationalize anti-Jewish hatred or attacks
as a justifiable expression of disaffection or frustration over political
events in the Middle East or elsewhere;
(2)decries the comparison of Jews to Nazis
perpetrating a Holocaust or genocide as a pernicious form of anti-Semitism, an
insult to the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust, and an affront
both to those who survived and the righteous gentiles who saved Jewish lives at
peril to their own and who fought to defeat the Nazis;
(3)calls on leaders to speak out against
manifestations of anti-Semitism that have entered the public debate about the
Middle East;
(4)applauds those foreign leaders who have
condemned anti-Semitic acts and calls on those who have yet to take firm action
against anti-Semitism in their countries to do so;
(5)reaffirms its support for the mandate of
the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism; and
(6)urges the Secretary of State—
(A)to maintain the fight against anti-Semitism
as a foreign policy priority of the United States and to convey the concerns of
the United States Government in bilateral meetings;
(B)to continue to raise with United States
allies in the Middle East their failure to halt incitement to violence against
Jews, including through the use of government-run media;
(C)to urge governments to promote tolerance
education and establish mechanisms to monitor, investigate, and punish
anti-Semitic crimes, including through utilization of the education, law
enforcement training, and civil society capacity building initiatives of the
Tolerance and Non-discrimination Department of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE);
(D)to swiftly appoint the Special Envoy to
Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism of the Department of State;
(E)to ensure that Department of State Annual
Country Reports on Human Rights and International Religious Freedom Reports
continue to report on incidents of anti-Semitism and the efforts of foreign
governments to address the problem;
(F)to provide necessary training and tools for
United States embassies and missions to recognize these trends; and
(G)to ensure that initiatives of the United
States Government to train law enforcement abroad incorporate tools to address
anti-Semitism.
Passed the Senate
July 20, 2009.
Nancy Erickson,
Secretary